On April 22 and 23, 2015 Community Action Association of PA will host the CAAP Annual Conference at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East hotel. CAAP is excited to announce that we have secured three wonderful general session speakers. These charismatic storytellers represent the successful impact Community Action has on the local community. Each presentation will focus on how Community Action contributes to the development of leadership, transformation, and innovation. The three presenters will be: Jonathan Edison, Kay Frances, and Rev. Faith Fowler.

Jonathan Edison: A former Head Start student, Mr. Edison believes that all children can reach their full potential with a strong push from educators. Jonathan Edison is one of the most compelling thought leaders and motivational business speakers today. As an expert in human development, he delivers strategies, methods, and tools filled with insight and humor that consistently move people and organizations to their highest potential.

Kay Frances: Ms. Frances will present "The Funny Thing About Transformation", a humorous and relevant message about change. The world is going to change with or without us, so we may as well enjoy the ride! Ms. Frances believes that people who maintain their sense of humor in the face of change are happier, healthier, and more productive.

Rev. Faith Fowler: Since 1994, Rev. Fowler has been the Executive Director of Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), a Detroit, MI nonprofit Community Action Agency which responds to poverty by managing programs for food, health care, housing, and employment utilizing innovative approaches.

Registration for the CAAP Annual Conference will begin in January 2015.

Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC) has a unique and wonderful partnership to help families in need during the holidays. Give A Christmas is an annual program in Bucks County organized in partnership with a local newspaper, The Intelligencer.  The two partners started accepting donations right after Thanksgiving. Collections will continue  into January. The Give A Christmas program benefits both the Opportunity Council and the Keystone Opportunity Center.

Many of the necessities that we may take for granted, like utilities and food, were especially hard to come by for many of BCOC's clients this year.  Each year Give A Christmas uniquely  attracts the huge reservoir of kindness that exists in the Bucks County community.  In 2013, Give A Christmas raised over $130,000 that benefitted 562 local families. A variety of services were offered to the families with the funds, including help with rental assistance, utility bills, maintaining reliable transportation, and buying new clothes and toys for Christmas.  

Here is what a BCOC family had to say about the program:

"Thank you for your kindness.  I am a single parent working hard to make ends meet.  You have been a blessing to our family.  My prayer is that one day I'll be able to do the same for a family like mine."

The hope and inspiration generated when a family realizes that their community cares for them can often spark a resiliency that allows the family to ultimately triumph. The Give A Christmas donation link can be found by Clicking Here.

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program 

is a Department of Human Services program that helps low-income customers with home heating needs during the winter. The program provides cash grants to help eligible customers pay heating bills and crisis grants in the event of a furnace breakdown or oil supply running out. In 2013, PA LIHEAP provided 391,461 households with financial assistance that ranged from $100 to $1,000. The LIHEAP advisory committee met on November 12. They discussed the passing of their budget on a continuing resolution. The program will receive 90% of last year's grant plus carry over money ($203.1M total for 2014). The mild start to the crisis season made LIHEAP demands manageable, setting the season off to a good start.  For the week ending in 12/20/2014, DHS received 17,903 applications, approved 15,528, and rejected 6,449. Year-to-date DHS has received 344,629 applications, approved 243,532, and rejected 47,903. There are about 52,184 pending applications. The top five reasons for an application rejection are: household income exceeds program limit, household did not send proof of income, household is not responsible for paying for heat, household did not send proof of heating responsibility, and household did not provide proof of household composition.

All CAAP Members are entitled to benefit from the services provided through the Community Action Program Legal Services (CAPLAW) - and those services are only getting better in 2015. The following are the most commonly used resources. First, CAPLAW offers free or member-discounted publications that can address most of your organization's needs (bylaws, Head Start regulations, preparation for agency audit, etc.). Click Here to check out their newest publications. Also, CAAP Members receive discounted rates to CAPLAW's June 10-12, 2015 conference in Portland, OR. CAAP Members can also consult with CAPLAW staff attorneys and professional staff on a wide variety of legal and financial issues, generally at no additional charge. For legal inquiries call 617-357-6915, and for general inquiries call 617-357-6915. Contact Steven Martinez at steven@thecaap.org or 717-233-1075 for more information about your CAPLAW benefits.

It's the end of the year, and soon annual report time will begin. If your agency is revamping its annual report, check out what 220 CAAs from 43 different states did for their 2013 reports on Virtual CAP's website: CAA Annual Reports (2013). A national CAA resource, Virtual CAP has a repository of information on many subjects. Starting in January, Virtual CAP will begin to add 2014 reports. Virtual CAP invites all PA CAAs to share their annual reports! The site is managed by Ken Ackerman, who conducted the recent ROMA Next Generation/Theory of Change workshop with Dr. Barbara Mooney for Pennsylvania CAAs. Virtual CAP will transition sponsorship from the Virginia Community Action Partnership to the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies on January 1st, but the website will remain the same. Log on, check it out, and sign up for email notices.

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This newsletter is financed, in part, by a CSBG grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development.